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TV4 (Diursia)
TV4 is a free-to-air television channel in Diursia. It is owned by the TV4 Group, a joint venture between MBS Corp and ITV plc. TV4 is the largest commercial television channel in Diursia. It has competed with DBC One since its launch. However, it and the other major TV channels have their audience share falling in the era of multichannel television. History Origins The company began as a joint venture between Westwood One, owner of MBS, and Granada Ltd, an ITV regional license holder. Both wanted to distribute their programs to Diursia without involvement by the DBC. They lobbied the Diursian government to legalize the launch of a commercial television channel. Launch After the Commercial Television Act of 1986 passed, TV4 launched on October 23 that year. Under the Act, TV4 must produce 50% of its programming. Launch programs that still air today are Coronation Street, Emmerdale, and Flowerbed Way. The launch graphics were made by Novocom. The first program that aired was Flowerbed Way. Late 80's: Early struggles Despite a promising start, the channel initially struggled to compete with the three DBC channels. Because of its heavily imported programming, it didn't meet the tastes of DBC viewers. Eventually it decided to call on independent producers to produce its programming. It reached parity with DBC1 in 1989 after many hits. Because of that popularity, commissions became a mainstay of TV4. 1990's: New competitors, MBS ownership changes The first half of the 90's were marked by two new competitors: DTV and RTL6. These eventually lagged behind the DBC channels and TV4 due to both calling them inferior. Because of this, DTV and RTL6 continue to try to stay on par with the DBC and TV4 today. On April 1, 1999, Westwood One sold MBS and its stake in TV4 to MGM Holdings. This increased the number of MGM films shown on TV4. 2000's: Granada merger with Carlton TV4 entered the decade with a campaign "The Channel That Cares" that garnered boosts to the channel's ratings. The generic ident featured a glass logo being shone by a blue spotlight. On December 6, 2000, TV4 premiered Big Brother Diursia. On February 2004, Granada plc, TV4's other co-owner, merged with Carlton Communications to form ITV plc. More shows produced under Carlton began to show up on TV4. On May 8, 2005, a sister channel Risk launched, importing programs from Fox, After Dark, and ITV2. 2010's: Stake owner shifts, continued success On November 3, 2010, TV4 co-owner MGM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and emerged on December 3. ITV meanwhile continued to produce successful programs for TV4. Following the bankruptcy emergence, MBS resumed program creation. In 2017, MGM was acquired by UBS Corp, making it a co-owner of TV4. UBS-produced shows began appearing on TV4 afterwards. It allowed MENA versions of its channels to become sister channels. In late 2019, citing strategic change, UBS Corp spun off its MBS assets, including its stake in TV4, to a new company called MBS Corp, with it beginning operations in 2020. Category:MBS Corp Category:Diursia Category:ITV